nz day 10-11: from south to north

On day 10, we left the South Island and took the ferry to the North Island.  We were able to drive our rental car onto the ferry and take it across with us.  The ferry dropped us off in Wellington, where we met up with our friends Caleb and Ruth for dinner.  Caleb went to high school with Nathan before moving to New Zealand in his college years.  He and Ruth were the reason we went to New Zealand in the first place...they were getting married!

Nathan's journal entry: "On Wednesday, we drove from Nelson to Picton to catch the ferry.  The roads twisted and wound through the hills so that it was slow going, but we made it to Picton in time to grab lunch at a little cafe.  It wasn't great, but it was food.  Then we waited in line for the ferry for quite a while.  We got some good views of the sound from the observation deck of the ferry, but it was windy and cold up there, so we went inside when we got to open water.  After that, it was uneventful."

The observation deck of the ferry was a bit cold.

The Marlborough Sounds stretch out before us...

...while Picton shrinks behind us...

Kristin's journal entry: "The ferry ride was okay.  The ferry itself is really awesome - food court and arcade and everything.  We sat on the top for a while, and the landscapes in the sounds looked beautiful.  Once we passed land, we went inside.  I felt almost seasick inside, so I was happy when we docked."

Heading out of the Sounds and into open waters...

Thus, we said farewell to the South Island.

Nathan's journal entry: "Driving in Wellington wasn't bad.  Lanes were narrower, and there was a lot more traffic than elsewhere, but we did fine getting to the grocery store where we met up with Caleb and Ruth.  Caleb and Ruth took us to Fidel's for dinner.  Supposedly the cast of the Lord of the Rings movies ate there fairly regularly when working in Wellington.  After dinner, we got some gelato and walked around the central city to see everything from where we'd be staying and where the Jones family will be staying to the waterfront and business district.  Then we dropped Caleb off at his place and headed to Palmerston North ("Palmy") for the night."

We stayed at Palmerston North and then spent the next day (day 11) driving up the North Island.  We enjoyed shopping, lounging at a lake, and seeing the sights.  We finally ended up at the base of the Tongariro Mountains, where we would be hiking our tails off the next day.

Kristin's journal entry: "Hanging out with Caleb and Ruth was fun, and it was nice to get the basic tour of downtown Wellington.  Palmy was actually a pretty nice town, even though people told us it was boring.  After spending the night there, we went to a mall to eat at a McDonalds for breakfast.  Right next to the McDonalds there was a fast food place that served the same menu only healthier - they had no customers the whole time we were there.  We went to a store called Katmandu so that Nathan could get a Gore-Tex jacket for our hike the next day.  He got it at a nice sale price (but still expensive), and it looks great on him.  He ended up not needing it on the hike, but I'm glad he got it anyway."

Nathan's journal entry: "We took our time getting around in Palmy, but we saw an outdoor store when getting breakfast, so we went to check out their rain gear.  I found a Gore-Tex shell jacket marked down to $300 from $500.  Considering I needed a rain jacket for the alpine hike the next day and I can rarely find Gore-Tex in the US anymore, I got it.  Then we had a lazy day driving up to Taupo and back to Discovery Lodge."

Kristin's journal entry: "We drove up to Lake Taupo to check out the area.  It was wonderful!  The lake is pretty, has cute ducks and black swans, and there were lots of paragliders out.  We didn't have tons of time, but we stopped for a great lunch at Dixie Downs and then sat and read on the grass by the lake.  We enjoyed watching 2 ducks try to flirt with some girls out tanning (the girls didn't think they were so cute)."

It doesn't look like much here, but Lake Taupo is really pretty.

When we were at Lake Taupo, there were lots of gliders, some doing aerobatics.

The mountains of Tongariro National Park are quite alone in the middle of a rather flat expanse, but it makes for some nice lookouts heading into the hills.

Nathan's journal entry: "Lake Taupo was pretty, but we would need to spend more time there taking hikes and such to really appreciate it, but it is a beautiful place, and there are some impressive Maori carvings somewhere around the lake.  But we just lounged on the shore reading."

Kristin's journal entry: "By the time we reached Discovery Lodge, it was raining and we couldn't even see the Tongariro mountains.  Our backpacker cabin was the size of a closet and smelled a bit like one."

This was our cabin for the night.  It felt even smaller.